GB2522614A

GB2522614A - Colour changing fashion accessory such as a handbag

Info

Publication number: GB2522614A
Application number: GB1400426.1A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Johnny Wu; Jason Cawdell
Original assignee: Halsall Toys Europe Ltd
Current assignee: Halsall Toys Europe Ltd
Priority date: 2014-01-10
Filing date: 2014-01-10
Publication date: 2015-08-05
Also published as: CN104776390A; GB201400426D0

Abstract

A fashion accessory such as a handbag 100 comprises: a sensing unit, a display and a controller. The sensing unit 150 is operable to receive light from a secondary object and produce one or more signals related to a colour of the secondary object. The display 146 is operable to emit light with one of a plurality of different perceived colours. The controller is arranged to receive the one or more signals from the sensing unit and, in response thereto, control the display to emit light with a substantially similar perceived colour to that of the secondary object.

Description

COLOUR CHANGING FASHION ACCESSORY SUCH AS A HANDBAG

The present invention relates to a fashion accessory at least a portion of which is operable to change colour to match an adjacent secondary object. In particular, the fashion accessory may be a handbag or a toy.

People, especially women, may wear and/or carry fashion accessories. It may be desirable for the colour of fashion accessories to match and/or complement that of other items such as, for example, clothing.

It is an object of the invention to provide a fashion accessory which is novel and

inventive over the known prior art.

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a fashion accessory comprising: a sensing unit, operable to receive light from a secondary object and produce one or more signals related to a colour of the secondary object; a display, operable to emit light with one of a plurality of different perceived colours; and a controller arranged to receive the one or more signals from the sensing unit and, in response thereto, control the display to emit light with a substantially similar perceived colour to that of the secondary object.

The sensing unit may comprise an illumination unit operable to emit light such that it is incident on said secondary object and a sensor operable to output a signal related to the amount of said emitted light that is reflected by the secondary object.

The illumination unit may be operable to sequentially emit light of each colour of a set made up of a plurality of different basis primary colours.

The illumination unit may comprise three light sources, each operable to emit light of a different colour from the set of made up of a plurality of different basis primary colours.

The light sources may comprise light emitting diodes.

The controller may be operable to control emission of light by the illumination unit.

The sensing unit may be operable to produce a plurality of signals related to a colour of the secondary object and each of the plurality of signals produced by the sensing unit may be related to a different primary colour component of the colour of the secondary object.

The sensor may comprise a phototransistor arranged such that the potential difference across its emitter and collector is indicative of the amount of light it receives.

The sensor may further comprise a fHter arranged to smooth out a signal of the potential difference across the emitter and the collector of the phototransistor.

Advantageously, such an arrangement provides a more stable signal that is less sensitive to noise.

The display may comprise one or more display devices controlled by a dsplay control circuit.

Each display device may comprises one or more illumination units, each illumination unit comprising a plurality of light sources, of which each light source may be operable to emit light of a different one of a set made up of a plurality of different basis primary colours. For embodiments wherein the sensing unit is operable to produce a plurality of signals, each relating to a different primary colour component of the colour of the secondary object, the basis primary colours of the light sources of each of the one or more illumination units may be substantially the same as the prmary colour components which the plurality of signals produced by the sensing unit are related to.

The display control circuit may comprise a plurality of transistors, each transistor being arranged to control a light source of each of the one or more illumination units, the light source of each of the one or more illumination units being operable to emit light of one of the set made up of a plurality of different basis primary colours.

In response to the one or more signals received from the sensing unit, for each of the one or more illumination units the controller may be operable to: determine a voltage corresponding to each light source of that illumination unit that is required to cause the light sources of that illumination unit to emit light such that the perceived colour of the light emitted by the illumination unit is substantially the same as the colour of the secondary object; and apply to each light source of the illumination unit the corresponding determined voltage.

The fashion accessory may be arranged such that substantially contnuously: the sensing unit produces the one or more signals related to a colour of a secondary object and, in response thereto, the controller controls the display so as to emit light with a substantially similar perceived colour to that of that secondary object.

The fashion accessory may further comprising a switch operable to switch the fashion accessory between: (a) a colour scanning state wherein the sensing unit produces one or more signals related to a colour of a secondary object and, in response thereto, the controller controls the display so as to emit light with a substantially similar perceived colour to that of that secondary object; and (b) a suspended state wherein the perceived colour of light emitted by the dsplay does not change.

When in the suspended state the perceived colour of light emitted by the display may be the same as that of a previous colour scanning state.

The controller may comprise a microprocessor. The microprocessor may comprise a memory. The microprocessor may be operable to store at least one value related to the one or more signals received from the sensing unit in the memory.

The sensing unit and the display may be disposed on opposing surfaces of the fashion accessory.

The fashion accessory may be a handbag.

Embodments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying schematic drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a front view of a handbag according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 is a rear view of the handbag shown in Figure 1; FigureS is a circuit diagram for an illumination unit of the handbag shown in Figurel; Figure 4 is a circuit diagram for a sensor of the handbag shown in Figure 1 Figure 5 is a circuit diagram for a display control circuit of the handbag shown in Figure 1; and Figure 6 is a circuit diagram for a handbag control circuit of the handbag shown in Figure 1.

Referring to Figures 1 & 2, a handbag 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention comprises a body 110 and a handle 120. The 110 body comprises opposed front and rear surfaces 11 Oa, 11 Ob. A sensing unit 130 is provided on the rear surface ilOb and two display devices 140, 150 are provided on the front surface llOa.

The sensing unit 130 comprises an illunination unit 200 and a sensor 300, shown in Figures 2 and 3 and discussed in more detail below.

Referring to Figure 3, the illumination unit 200 comprises three light emitting diodes (LEDs): a red LED 210, a blue LED 220 and a green LED 230. Each of the LEDs 210, 220, 230 is provided in series with a resistor 211, 221, 231. The anode of each of the LEDs 210, 220, 230 is connected to a reference voltage 240. The cathode of each of the LEDs 210, 220, 230 is connected, via its corresponding resistor 211, 221, 231 to a respective driving voltage 212, 222, 232. The emission of light by each of the LEDs 210, 220, 230 may be controlled by controlling the respective driving voltages 212, 222, 232. For example, if all of the driving voltages are held at the reference voltage 240 then none of the LEDs 210, 220, 230 will emit light. In addition, if there is a difference between one or more of the driving voltages 212, 222, 232 and the reference voltage 240 such that the voltage across the respective LEDs 210, 220, 230 is within a given range then they will emit light.

Each of the LEDs 210, 220, 230 may require a different range of potential differences across its anode and cathode to emit light. For a given potential difference across its anode and cathode each of the LEDs 210, 220, 230 may have a different conversion efficiency such that each LED 210, 220, 230 emits light with a different intensity. The values of the series resistors 211, 221, 231 may be chosen so that substantially the same driving voltage 212, 222, 232 is required in order for each LED to emit substantially the same intensity of light.

Referring to Figure 4, the sensor 300 comprises a phototransistor 310, a capacitor 320 and a resistor 330. The collector of the phototransistor 310 is connected to a reference voltage 340. The capacitor 320 and the resistor 330 are connected in parallel between the emitter of the phototransistor 310 and earth. The sensor 300 acts as a voltage divider with the phototransistor 310 on one side and the capacitor 320 and the resistor 330 on the other side. The potential difference across the collector and emitter of the phototransistor 310 is dependent upon the amount of light received by phototransistor 310. Therefore, since the collector of the phototransistor 310 is connected to a reference voltage 340, the voltage 350 of the emitter relative to earth will vary in dependence upon the amount of light received. For relatively small amounts of light, the voltage 350 of the emitter will be close to zero and as the amount of light received increases, the voltage 350 of the emitter will increase towards a maximum value corresponding to the reference voltage 340.

The capacitor 320 and resistor 330 act as a filter, smoothing out the potential 350 of the emitter. The amount of smoothing may be dependent upon a time constant of this portion of the sensor 300, which may be given by a product of the capacitance of the capacitor 320 and the resistance of the resistor 330. In one embodiment, the capacitor 320 may have a capacitance of 0.OlkF. The resistor 330 may have a resistance of 18k0.

The two display devices 140, 150 are controlled by a display control circuit.

Referring to Figure 5, the display control circuit 400 comprises three transistors 410, 420, 430. The emitter of each of the transistors 410, 420, 430 is connected to a reference voltage 440, which may be the same as the reference voltage 240 to which the anodes of the LEDs 210, 220, 230 of the illumination unit 200 of the sensing unit are connected.

The display control circuit 400 further comprises one or more illumination units for each of the two display devices 140, 150. In Figures, only a single illumination unit 141, 151 is shown for each of the two display devces 140, 150 respectively, although additional illumination units may be provided. Each illumination unit 141, 151 is similar in construction to the illumination unit 200 of the sensing unit 130. In particular, each illumination unit comprises a red LED 142, 152, a blue LED 143, 153 and a green LED 144, 154, each being provided in series with a respective resistor 145, 146, 147, 155, 156, 157.

The cathode of each of the LEDs 142, 152, 143, 153, 144, 154 of the illumination units 141, 151 is connected to earth.

The display control circuit 400 may be considered to have a set of red LEDs 142, 152, a set of blue LEDs 143, 153 and a set of green LEDs 144, 154. Each of the three transistors 410, 420, 430 acts to control a respective one of these three sets of LEDs as will now be described in detail. In particular, the transistor 430 controls the set of red LEDs 142, 152; the transistor 410 controls the set of blue LEDs 143, 153; and the transistor 420 controls the set of green LEDs 144, 154.

The collector of the transistor 430 is connected to the anode of each of the red LEDs 142, 152 of the illumination units 141, 151, via corresponding resistors 145, 155. The collector of the transistor 410 is connected to the anode of each of the blue LEDs 143, 153 of the illumination units 141, 151, via corresponding resistors 146, 156. The collector of the transistor 420 is connected to the anode of each of the green LEDs 144, 154 of the illumination units 141, 151, via corresponding resistors 147, 157.

The base of each of the transistors 410, 420, 430 is connected to a respective driving voltage 412, 422, 432 via a respective resistor 411, 421, 431. In one embodiment, the resistors 411, 421, 431 have a resistance of 1 kG. The potential of the collector of each transistor 410, 420, 430, and therefore the potential difference across the corresponding set of LEDs it controls 143, 153; 144, 154; 142, 152, is dependent upon the driving voltage 412, 422, 432 of that transistor 410, 420, 430.

The emission of light by each set of LEDS 143, 153; 144, 154; 142, 152 may be controlled by controlling the driving voltages 412, 422, 432 of its corresponding transistor 410, 420, 430.

The illumination unit 200 and a sensor 300 of the sensing unit 130 and the display control circuit 400 of the two display devices 140, 150 form part of a handbag control circuit 500.

Referring to Figure 6, the handbag control circuit 500 comprises a power source 510, a voltage regulator 520, and a microprocessor 530.

In one embodiment, the power source 510 comprises three AA batteries, operable to provide a potential difference of up to around 4.5V. The voltage regulator 520 is a high power step-down switching regulator and is connected in parallel with the power supply. In one embodiment, the voltage regulator 520 is the high power step-down switching regulator with part number CE6206A 30P. The voltage regulator 520 is operable to produce a stable reference voltage 240, 440 from the power supply 510. A first decoupling capacitance is disposed between the power supply 510 and the voltage regulator 520 and a second decoupling capacitance is disposed between the voltage regulator 520 and the microprocessor 530. The first decoupling capacitance comprises a first pair of capacitors 511, 512 connected in series and the second decoupling capacitance comprises a second pair of capacitors 513, 514 connected in series.

Other embodiments may alternatively employ any appropriate decoupling capacitance, for example a different combination of capacitors or even a single capacitor.

In one embodiment, the microprocessor 530 comprises a moderate 4-bit microprocessor from the AM4KGxxxx series such as, for example, AM4K0127. The microprocessor 530 comprises a plurality of input and/or output pins. A first set of pins 531 are connected to the reference voltage 240, 440 produced by the voltage regulator 520. One of this first set of pins 531 sets a reference voltage for an analogue to digital conversion by the microprocessor 530. A second set of pins 532 are connected to earth.

An oscillator pin 533 is connected to the reference voltage 240, 440 produced by the voltage regulator 520 via a resistor 540. The values of the reference voltage 240, 440 and the resistance of the resistor 540 determine an oscillator frequency of the microprocessor 530. This oscillator frequency of the microprocessor 530 is the rate at which operations are performed by the microprocessor 530. In one embodiment the resistance of the resistor 540 is 220kfl. Preferably, the resistance of the resistor 540 is fine-tuned with a relatively small tolerance, for example 1%.

Two more pins 534a, 534b are connected to the collector and emitter of the phototransistor 310 providing potentials 340 and 350 respectively.

Each of three more pins 535a-535c is connected to the base of a respective transistor 410, 420, 430 of the display control circuit 400 via their respective resistors 411, 421, 431 so as to provide a driving voltage 412, 422, 432.

Each of three more pins 536a-536c is connected to the cathode of a different one of the LEDs 210, 220, 230 of the illuminaton unit 200 via a corresponding resistor 211, 221, 231 so as to provide a driving voltage 212, 222, 232.

A trigger pin 537 is connected to the reference voltage 240, 440 produced by the voltage regulator 520 via a switch 550.

The microprocessor 530 is programmed to control the illumination unit 200, the sensor 300 and the display control circuit 400 (including the two display devices 140, 150) in accordance with an embodiment of the invention as will now be described further.

In use, the handbag 100 is placed proximate to a secondary object (not shown) and is actuated by a user by closing switch 550. The secondary object may be any object the colour of which it is desired to substantially replicate on the display devices 140, 150 of the handbag. For example, the secondary object may comprise an item of clothing.

Once actuated, the microprocessor 530 is operable control the potentials 212, 222, 232 on each of the three pins 536a-536c so as to sequentially illuminate each of the LEDs 210, 220, 230 of the illumination unit 200. In one embodiment, the red LED 210 is illuminated first, whilst the blue and green LEDs 220, 230 are not illuminated. Next the blue LED 220 is illuminated whilst the red and green LEDs 210, 230 are not illuminated and finally the green LED 230 is illuminated whilst the red and blue LEDs 210, 220 are not illuminated.

The microprocessor 530 controls the potential 212 on the pin 536a so as that the red LED 210 is illuminated. A portion of the red light that is emitted by the red LED 210 is incident in the secondary object, is reflected back to the sensing unit 130 and is absorbed by the phototransistor 310 of the sensor 300. The voltage 350 on pin 354b is therefore dependent upon the amount of red light reflected back by the secondary object. From the voltage 350 on pin 354b the microprocessor 530 determines a value that is indicative of the amount of red light reflected back by the secondary object and stores this value in memory. Once this value has been determined and stored in memory, the microprocessor 530 controls the potential 212 on the pin 536a so as that the red LED 210 is no longer illuminated.

Next the blue LED 220 is illuminated and, in a similar manner as for the red LED 210, from the potential 350 on pin 354b, the microprocessor 530 determines a value that is indicative of the amount of blue light reflected back by the secondary object and stores this value in memory. Finally, the green LED 230 is illuminated and, in a similar manner as for the red and blue LEDs 210, 220, from the potential 350 on pin 354b, the microprocessor 530 determines a value that is indicative of the amount of green light reflected back by the secondary object and stores this value in memory.

The amount of red, green and blue light reflected by the secondary object are dependent upon its colour.

Using the three values stored in memory, the microprocessor 530 is further operable to determine a voltage 412, 422, 432 for each set of LEDs 143, 153; 144, 154; 142, 152 in the display control circuit 400 that is required to cause the LEDs 143, 153; 144, 154; 142, 152 to emit light such that the perceived colour of the light emitted by the display devices 140, 150 is substantially the same as the colour of the secondary object. The microprocessor 530 is further operable to apply the determined voltages 412, 422, 432 to corresponding pins 535a-535c so as to simultaneously illuminate all of the LEDs 142, 152, 143, 153, 144, 154 of the illumination units 141, 151 of the two display devices such that the perceived colour of the light emitted by the display devices 140, is substantially the same as the colour of the secondary object.

Once the switch 550 is opened, the display devices 140, 150 may continue to display the last colour corresponding to the values stored in memory. Alternatively, the display devices 140, 150 may display a default colour such as, for example, white.

Alternatively, the display devices 140, 150 may not emit light.

The microprocessor 530 may control the sensing unit 130 to determine the colour of a secondary object substantially continuously or intermittently at any convenient rate.

While specific embodiments of the invention have been described above, it will be appreciated that the invention may be practiced otherwise than as described. The descriptions above are intended to be illustrative, not limiting. Thus it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that modifications may be made to the invention as described without departing from the scope of the claims set out below.

The illumination unit 200 a! the sensing unit 130 of the above described embodiment is operable to sequentially illuminate a secondary object with light of a plurality of different basis primary colours and a single sensor 300 is operable to determine the amount of each that is reflected back. Such an arrangement is advantageous since the same colour LEDs may be used for sensing and displaying, potentially allowing the displayed colour to better match of that of the secondary object. However, alternatively, the illumination unit of the sensing unit may be operable to illuminate a secondary object with white light, or with light of a plurality of different basis primary colours substantially simultaneously, and a plurality of different sensors may be operable to determine how much of each of a plurality of basis primary colours is reflected back. For example, each sensor may be provided with a different coloured filter. For such embodiments, it may not be necessary to illuminate the secondary object if ambient light levels are sufficiently high.

Although the above described embodiments use red, blue and green as a set of basis colours, any other set of basis primary colours may alternatively be used.

Although the above described embodiments use LEDs as light sources within the illumination unit 200 of the sensing unit 130 and the illumination units 141, 151 of the two display devices 140, 150. In alternative embodiments, any other type of light sources may alternatively be used in some or all of the illumination units 200, 141, 151.

Although the above described embodiment comprises two display devices 140, 150 alternative embodiments may comprise any appropriate number of display devices.

For example, embodiments may comprise one display device or more than two display devices.

Although the sensor 300 of the sensing unit 130 of the above described embodiment uses a phototransistor 310 as a sensing element, alternative embodiments may use any other light sensitive sensing element such as, for example, a photodiode.

Although the above described embodiment of the invention is a handbag, the invention may relate to any other suitable type of fashion accessories and/or toy.

Claims

CLAIMS: 1. A fashion accessory comprising: a sensing unit, operable to receive light from a secondary object and produce one or more signals related to a colour of the secondary object; a display, operable to emit light with one of a plurality of different perceived colours; and a controller arranged to receive the one or more signals from the sensing unit and, in response thereto, control the display to emit light with a substantially similar perceived colour to that of the secondary object.
2. The fashion accessory of claim 1, wherein the sensing unit comprises an illumination unit operable to emit light such that it is incident on said secondary object and a sensor operable to output a signal related to the amount of said emitted light that is reflected by the secondary object.
3. The fashion accessory of claim 2, wherein the illumination unit is operable to sequentially emit light of each colour of a set made up of a plurality of different basis primary colours.
4. The fashion accessory of claim 3, wherein the illumination unit comprises three light sources, each operable to emit light of a different colour from the set of made up of a plurality of different basis primary coours.
5. The fashion accessory of any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the controller is operable to control emission of light by the illumination unit.
6. The fashion accessory of any preceding claim, wherein the sensing unit is operable to produce a plurality of signals related to a colour of the secondary object and wherein each of the plurality of signals produced by the sensing unit is related to a different primary colour component of the colour of the secondary object.
7. The fashion accessory of any one of claims 2 to 6, wherein the sensor comprises a phototransistor arranged such that the potential difference across its emitter and collector is indicative of the amount of light it receives.
8. The fashion accessory of claim 7, wherein the sensor further comprises a filter arranged to smooth out a signal of the potential difference across the emitter and the collector of the phototransistor.
9. The fashion accessory of any preceding claim, wherein the display comprises one or more display devices controlled by a display control circuit.
10. The fashion accessory of claim 9 wherein each display device comprises one or more illumination units, each illumination unit comprising a plurality of light sources, of which each light source is operable to emit light of a different one of a set made up of a plurality of different basis primary colours.
11. The fashion accessory of claim 10 when dependent upon claim 6 or any claim dependent upon claim 6, wherein the basis primary colours of the light sources of each of the one or more illumination units are substantially the same as the primary colour components which the plurality of signals produced by the sensing unit are related to.
12. The fashion accessory of claim 10 or claim 11, wherein the display control circuit comprises a plurality of transistors, each transistor being arranged to control a light source of each of the one or more iHumination units, the light source of each of the one or more illumination units being operable to emit light of one of the set made up of a plurality of different basis primary colours.
13. The fashion accessory of any one of claims 10 to 12, wherein in response to the one or more signals received from the sensing unit, for each of the one or more illumination units the controller is operable to: determine a voltage corresponding to each light source of that illumination unit that is required to cause the light sources of that illumination unit to emit light such that the perceived colour of the light emitted by the illumination unit is substantially the same as the colour of the secondary object; and apply to each light source of the illumination unit the corresponding determined voltage.
14. The fashion accessory of any preceding claim wherein substantially continuously: the sensing unit produces the one or more signals related to a colour of a secondary object and, in response thereto, the controller controls the display so as to emit light with a substantially similar perceived colour to that of that secondary object.
15. The fashion accessory of any preceding claim, further comprising a switch operable to switch the fashion accessory between: (a) a colour scanning state wherein the sensing unit produces one or more signals related to a colour of a secondary object and, in response thereto, the controller controls the display so as to emit light with a substantially similar perceived colour to that of that secondary object; and (b) a suspended state wherein the perceived colour of light emitted by the display does not change.
16. The fashion accessory of claim 15, wherein when in the suspended state the perceived colour of light emitted by the display is the same as that of a previous colour scanning state.
17. The fashion accessory of any preceding claim, wherein the controller comprises a microprocessor.
18. The fashion accessory of claim 17, wherein the microprocessor comprises a memory.
19. The fashion accessory of claim 18, wherein the microprocessor is operable to store at least one value related to the one or more signals received from the sensing unit in the memory.
20. The fashion accessory of any preceding claim, wherein the sensing unit and the display are disposed on opposing surfaces of the fashion accessory.
21. The fashion accessory of any preceding claim, wherein the fashion accessory is a handbag.